Frequency synthesizers are commonly implemented within wireless communication devices that transmit and receive encoded radio frequency (RF) signals. A number of different wireless communication techniques have been developed including frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA) and various spread spectrum techniques. One common spread spectrum technique used in wireless communication is code division multiple access (CDMA) signal modulation in which multiple communications are simultaneously transmitted over a spread spectrum radio-frequency (RF) signal. Some example wireless communication devices that have incorporated one or more wireless communication techniques include cellular radiotelephones, PCMCIA cards incorporated within portable computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) equipped with wireless communication capabilities, and the like.
Frequency synthesizers of wireless communication devices may be used during both RF signal reception and RF signal transmission. For example, during RF signal reception of CDMA encoded signals, RF signals are typically mixed down to baseband signals, which can be converted to digital values. During the mixing down process, reference waveforms are produced by a frequency synthesizer that utilizes a local clock of the wireless communication device as a timing reference. After mixing the RF signal down to baseband, the baseband signals are typically passed through an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter to produce the digital values that can be tracked and demodulated. For example, a RAKE receiver can be used to track and demodulate multi-path signals of a CDMA system. A number of different CDMA architectures have been developed, such as for example, a heterodyne architecture that includes both an intermediate frequency (IF) section and an RF section, and a Zero IF architecture which converts incoming RF signals directly into baseband signals without first converting the RF signals to IF signals. Depending on the architecture, any number of frequency synthesizers may be implemented to provide reference waveforms to the mixers.
Frequency synthesizers are also used during RF signal transmission. In that case, baseband signals are up-mixed to RF. During the up-mixing process, the frequency synthesizer produces carrier RF waveforms. The carrier waveforms are then encoded with the baseband signal before being transmitted. Again, the frequency synthesizer typically uses the local clock of the wireless communication device as the timing reference. For example, the carrier RF waveform may be created by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) whose frequency is determined by a phase locked loop (PLL). The timing reference for the PLL is a high precision low frequency crystal oscillator, such as a voltage controlled temperature compensated crystal oscillator (VCTCXO). The VCO may be off-chip, or alternatively integrated on-chip. The phase locked loop (PLL) that provides closed-loop analog control of the oscillator can either be integrated on the same chip as the VCO, or can likewise be a separate off-chip component.
Amplitude control of the oscillating signal of a VCO is a major concern. In particular, the amplitude of the oscillating signal needs to be large enough to ensure that the VCO has adequate phase noise performance. On the other hand, too much amplitude is undesirable because too much amplitude can push the VCO into an operating region where phase noise is degraded as the amplitude is increased. For these reasons, conventional implementations of frequency synthesizers typically provide continuous closed-loop control of the amplitude of the oscillating signal generated by the VCO.